THE international community is concerned with the increasing numbers of vulnerable children using internet and has expressed the need to put protective measures in place so that they can only benefit from modern of technology.
The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon made the remarks during the launch of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) initiative to safeguard children from the undesirable elements of internet.

In his video message to the world, Ki-Moon urged the world not to expose children to the bad side of the internet and modern technology in general.

“I welcome the ITU’s Child Online Protection initiative and urge all states to support it,” said the UN chief.

Ki-Moon’s call came in the wake of some initiatives pioneered by the Child Online Protection (COP) to ensure that children are not exposed to pornography and other anti-social elements when accessing, downloading and exploring messages and images on the internet.

After realising the dangers associated with children accessing online researches, studies and exploring internet on their own, the ITU believes working with UN agencies will be of great assistance in tackling the challenge.

Several human rights groups, international organisations on children protection, women groups and information technology companies expressed hope that the message from the UN chief would be heeded for the good of young internet users.